1. MEMORANDUM
TO: Junior Associates, RWA Sections 13 and 16
FROM: Senior Partner Entrikin and Senior Associate Howell
RE: Cooper v. Stockett, No. 251-11-134 CIV
DATE: October 12, 2011
Thank you for your initial research on the applicable statute of limitations for Ms.
Cooper’s invasion of privacy claims.
We have a follow up question we’d like you to research. Assume for now that we can
persuade the Court of Appeals that the trial judge erred by granting summary judgment on statute
of limitations grounds, at least on some (if not all) of Cooper’s claims. My next question is this:
What’s the likelihood that the Mississippi Court of Appeals would hold, as a matter of law, that
Ms. Cooper has stated a claim against Stockett for misappropriation of Cooper’s identity?
Given the uncertainty about the outcome of the threshold issue, I’m concerned that even
if we do decide to file an appeal, Stockett might argue that it does not matter how the statute of
limitations issue is resolved. Specifically, she might argue that Cooper cannot prevail as a matter
of law – at least not on her appropriation of identity claim.
To save some time, I’ve had my legal assistant track down all the relevant legal
authorities from Mississippi, along with many relevant authorities from other jurisdictions that
might be helpful. This time, my assistant found the original reporter versions of the cases if they
were available. As before, you will find the library of authorities for Closed Memo No. 2 posted
on TWEN under “Writing Assignments.” This time it is up to you to put the citations in correct
format according to the ALWD Citation Manual.
In addition to the authorities listed in the library for Closed Memo No. 2, you are also
free to consult any of the authorities you were authorized to consider for Closed Memo No. 1.
Please confine your analysis to those authorities alone. Do not cite any internal references to
other legal authority. Instead, cite directly to the authorityyou’ve been given, and then include
an explanatory parenthetical with information about any internal citations. For example,
According to one federal court in Arizona,the sky is blue. Columbus v. Santa
Maria, 1 F.Supp. 157 (S.D.N.Y. 1492) (citing an Arizona federal court
decision).
In the example, do not cite directly to the Arizona authority; just refer to it generally in the text of
your sentence and cite only to the legal authority in the library where you found that internal
reference.
Remember: Your second issue is a narrow one.We just need to know how to counsel
Ms. Cooper about the likelihood of winning the appropriation of identity claimifshe decides to
challenge the trial court’s summary judgment ruling. In the second part of your memo, please
limit your analysis to that issue – and that issue alone. On this second issue, I am not concerned
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2. about any of Cooper’s other claims, primarily because I think the appropriation of identity claim
offers our best opportunity to overcome the statute of limitations defense. (Of course, I may
change my mind after reading your legal analysis of that issue.)
In addition to the legal authorities listed in the two libraries, remember that you may
always consult Black’s Law Dictionary to define legal terms. You may cite Black’s in support of
your analysis, if appropriate. Just be sure you use the correct citation format.
You are not authorized to engage in any outside research beyond the specific authorities
provided forthe two closed memo assignments. Do notcite any case or other legal authoritynot
enumerated in one or the other library of authorities. If you wish to rely on any outside legal
authority cited or relied upon by a legal resourceprovided directly to you, simply refer to the
outsideauthority, without a formal citation,in the text of your discussion. Then cite directly to the
legal authority you’ve been provided where you found the reference to the outside legal
authority.
Please incorporate your legal analysis for this second issue into your previous memo
addressing the statute of limitations question (after revising and improving that discussion, of
course). Structure your Questions Presented using Roman numeral I for the first issue and
Roman numeral II for the second issue. Do the same with your Brief Answers. Use the same
Roman numerals to designate each Brief Answer that corresponds to each Question Presented.
Your memo should include a heading similar to the heading of this memo. Use 12-point
Times New Roman (or equivalent) font and one-inch margins. Please double-space your memo
and number the pages, centered at the bottom of each page. Please do not exceed ten double-
spaced pages, and please print your final version of the memo on one side of the page only.(If
your memo is longer, I will read and evaluate only the first ten pages.)
You are encouraged todiscuss the assignment and the legal authorities with other first-
year students in Professor Entrikin’s RWASections 13 and 16. You may also discuss the
assignment with Cassie Howell during her office hours or by email. Do not discuss the
assignment with anyone else, including your other professors, roommates, parents, siblings,
relatives, friends, acquaintances, or strangers.
Finally, your writing must be exclusively yours. You may not show your written work to
anyone other than Ms. Howell or me. Senior Associate Howell is not authorized to edit or revise
your written work, which must be exclusively your own. You are expected to do your best
work on your memo.We need to advise Ms. Cooper about this additional issue on or before the
first of November. Therefore, yourassignment is due at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, October 31.
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